Trump Appoints Jared Kushner Friend as Assistant to President

By Josefin Dolsten January 17, 2017

(JTA) — Donald Trump named Reed Cordish, a real estate developer who is friends with his son-in-law Jared Kushner, as assistant to the president for intragovernmental and technology initiatives.

Cordish, who is Jewish, will be responsible for initiatives requiring multi-agency collaboration. He will also focus on technological innovation and modernization, according to a statement Tuesday by Trump’s transition team announcing the appointment.

Christopher Liddell, who will serve as assistant to the president and director of strategic initiatives, and Cordish “have led large, complex companies in the private sector, and have played instrumental roles throughout the transition,” Trump said in the statement. “Their skill sets are exactly what is needed to effect substantial change, including system wide improvement to the performance of the government.”

Cordish, a partner at his family’s real estate and entertainment firm, The Cordish Companies, co-hosted a fundraiser for Trump’s presidential campaign in October, according to Jewish Insider, which first reported on Cordish joining the Trump administration. Cordish is in his early 40s.

Kushner’s wife and the president-elect’s daughter Ivanka Trump introduced Cordish and his now-wife, Margaret.

Cordish’s father, David, the chairman and CEO of The Cordish Companies, and the president-elect are friends. The two met during the mediation process of a lawsuit in which Trump sued The Cordish Companies.

David Cordish also is a board member of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a prominent lobbying group on behalf of Israel.

Josefin Dolsten is a New York-based writer who has reported for the Forward, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, The Times of Israel and other Jewish publications. She currently works as an account director at Fenton Communications, supporting organizations that work to advance racial justice, LGBTQ+ equality, reproductive rights and more. Dolsten earned her B.A. in government from Cornell University and her M.A. in comparative religion and Jewish studies from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO